Can one of their sponsors donate a metric ton of bubble wrap?

Interleague play is finally over for the Red Sox this season. It was very fruitful for them in that they went 12-5 against National league opponents. If you would have told me the Sox bats would have chased Tim Lincecum from the game in the 3rd inning, I know I wouldn't have believed it. Even 2 time Cy Young award winners have bad games, but throwing 79 pitches by the third before getting pulled? Bananas.

On the not so rosy side of interleague play, three more Sox players went down with injuries. Dustin Pedroia, Clay Buchholz, and Victor Martinez all gone in three consecutive games. It makes me wonder if the boys shouldn't just be wrapped in bubble wrap or institute a mandatory two feet of personal space rule to keep the opposition at bay. I think the worst part of all is that with most of these injuries, it was just a freak thing. Pedie wasn't climbing the outfield wall on a dare, all it took was a foul ball. Not to diminish Clay and Victor's roles on the ball team, but Pedroia is the little, bad ass, trash talking, heart and soul of this team. I am pretty sure he asked them to cut off his broken foot because he didn't need it to win another Gold Glove.

Luckily, the All Star break is coming and will hopefully give the Sox a chance to rest and heal up. In the meantime, I will continue to marvel at their ability to insert a player into a role and have them just turn it up and keep on winning. The depth is pretty amazing, actually. I don't see the mounting injuries stopping the Sox, which really makes me excited for what will happen when everyone is healthy.

In brief hockey news, the Stanley Cup was in attendance at the Chicago Gay Pride this past weekend and I am just thrilled. I love to see the NHL and the Chicago Blackhawks being so open to celebrating their championship. Brent Sopel and his wife were on a float with Stanley, and it just speaks even more about hockey players' integrity that he would spend part of his 24 hours with the cup doing this. Especially when he had just been traded to another team less than a week ago.

I am always proud to be a hockey fan, but I am very proud today that a league that is so diverse when it comes to fans in the stands and players on the ice is open to letting it's most iconic symbol be enjoyed and celebrated by everyone.

Brent Sopel has said in interviews that he was doing it as a tribute to Brendan Burke, the late son of Toronto Maple Leafs General Manager Brian Burke, who was killed in a car crash this past February only months after coming out to his family and hockey team members at Ohio University. A very touching tribute indeed.

You can read more about Lord Stanley at Chicago Pride here:

http://outsports.com/jocktalkblog/2010/06/28/brent-sopel-thinks-chicago-gay-pride-is-awesome/

Or watch this: